“The stigma is still so intense that many people don’t realize how many (people with a substance use disorder) make it out because once someone recovers, there’s still this feeling of shame attached to talking about their experience,” said Erion, who is the founder of Families of Addicts (FOA), a nonprofit organization that supports families and individuals affected by addiction.
Erion founded FOA in 2013 after recovering from her own addiction and helping her daughter do the same.
“Even with my own recovery from alcohol and other drugs, as a mom of a heroin addict, I did not understand my daughter’s addiction and why she did the things she did,” she said on Sunday.
Erion said her experience with addiction to alcohol and cocaine differed in many ways from her daughter’s heroin addiction, from how the addiction manifested to how it was sustained.
This made Erion curious about how some people with substance use disorders and their loved ones may also have to take different approaches to succeed in recovery.
“There are different levels of addiction; I wasn’t stealing to support my addiction and was functioning, for the most part; I quit because I was afraid of what was going to happen,” she said. “The way I describe it is I’d walk to the edge (of my addiction) and then go back; others walk to the edge and jump over.”
With this understanding, and through candid, judgement-free discussions with her daughter, Erion was inspired to help others.
“Over time, my daughter was able to come to me when she needed help because we normalized that conversation,” she said. “That prompted me to start support meetings to help those who are on the fence about recovery feel empowered to stay the course by realizing they had value.”
Today, Erion’s daughter is in recovery and entering her second year of law school to become an attorney.
Erion and other event organizers celebrated the FOA’s 12th annual Rally 4 Recovery on Sunday at Dayton’s Courthouse Square.
The rally included music, vendors, dancing and guest speakers.
Angie Todd is a former Dayton resident who went on to found a local chapter of FOA in Onslow County, North Carolina, where she now lives.
Todd, who has known and loved several people living with a substance use disorder in her circle, including her daughter, said FOA played a critical role for her family.
“FOA was a support system for us,” she said. “A lot of times, families don’t realize they have to recover, too ... families need to understand what the disease of addiction is so they can support their addict.”
Todd stressed that recovery can be a long road for some, with relapses and failed attempts at maintaining sobriety.
“Nobody’s recovery is the same,” she said.
Todd said what ultimately helped her daughter succeed in recovery — she’s now 7-years sober — was a fresh start in North Carolina.
Todd had a fresh start, too, opening the FOA chapter to provide the same support to families that she and her own loved ones benefited from in Dayton.
She also works to support drug-use prevention efforts in her community and beyond.
“If I have one hope, it’s that we will start focusing more on our youth and early prevention programs to stop the disease of addiction before it starts,” she said.
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